and to inflame the people against their friends by mifreprefentation, which it was much eafier to forge and eirculate than fupprefs. But he called on the honour of the House, on their regard for themselves, on their fidelity to their contituents, and above all, on their value for the Conftitution, to hold on in the fair, the broad and beaten path of duty to their country, their confciences, and the truft committed to their honour as men, and virtue as citizens. This might be called an appeal to paffion—He was not very anxious what cenfures of that kind he might wear He knew not for one, when the feelings of mankind did not deserve to be roufed and interested, if not on a queftion which involved whatever they efteemed moft, and would part with

laft.

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Mr. Chancellor Pitt faid, that the right honourable gentle- Mr. Chanman in his prefent conduct feemed to be inclined to declare cellor Pitt. war with the other House of Parliament, and to load them with invective, which fhould bring upon them popular odium and he feemed to be thus evidently folicitous of bringing on what he pretended the moft to condemn, a quarrel between the two Houfes. He trufted and believed, that the people had too much good fense, that they had too much veneration for a Houfe which now, as well as in many former inftances, had interpofed between the violence of the House of Commons and the Conftitution, and had rescued the one from the intemperance of the other. In the present. cafe, they had observed a resolution of this Houfe with the jealoufy which became their wisdom; and finding in it an ambiguity that alarmed them, they had declared their fenfe of its tendency with manlinefs, and at the fame time with respect. If they had conftrued the refolution wrong, if they had given to the words a meaning which they did not bear, that must be ascribed to its true caufe, not to any captious difpofition of that noble House Not, as had been infinuated, to a defire of diminishing the importance or the confidence of the Commons, but to a laudible defire of guarding the facred purity of our Conftitution against the temporary heat, the phrenzy, the violence, or the forgetful-. nefs of either of the other branches of the Legislature. He faid he was not in the House at the time that the refolution complained of was paffed. He confeffed that he had always looked on that resolution as, at beft, a hafty and inconfiderate measure, and conveyed at the fame time in words of fo much

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ambiguity, as to juftify the Houfe in their acceptation of it. It undoubtedly might be conftrued, from its letter, to affume a paramount powerto the difcretionary authority vefted by the act of Parliament in the Board of Treafury; for the refolution exprefly declared, that they were to accept of no more bills until the Houfe of Commons fhould fo direct. What was the meaning of thefe words, "until the Houfe of Commons fhould fo direct?" Their meaning was evidently that they fhould hold themselves fubject to the injunction of that Houfe, and fhould, in confequence of their interference and control, fufpend the exercife of their difcretionary powers. He turned his argument into a variety of fhapes, and having argued it at confiderable length, he faid the explanation fuggefted by his learned friend might poffibly answer the wishes of moderate men; fince by fhewing that the House of Lords had miftaken the fenfe of the refolution, the cenfure of their oppofite refolve would not remain. In his own mind the explanation of Mr. Dundas was right; but as it did not feem to be the sense of the Houfe, he would take a more gentle courfe, and by moving the previous queftion, would put the matter on a footing which gentlemen, he thought, could not fo well object to. The matter would then ftand thus: -The Houfe, though they had paffed the refolution, felt the force of the conviction they had received, and without entering into any explanation of their conduct, confeffed its inconfiderate tendency, by refufing to take notice of the cenfure they had received. This was the moderate way of proceeding, and this was the means which he preferred, as he did not wish to imitate the right honourable gentleman, whofe profeffions were all for peace, temper, and moderation, but whofe measures were for the reverfe. The right honourable gentleman was for ever talking about the moderation of his conduct, and for ever charging him and his friends with all the heat and intemperance which occurred in that House; and yet, though that was for ever his language, it was never his practice. He declared himself to be a friend to order and concord. The great defire and object of his heart was unanimity, if it could be procured on public principles, and on grounds upon which men of honour could ftand. In the mean time he muft obferve again and again, that the prefent dilemma was not occafioned by his pride, by his obftinacy, or by his luft of power. He concluded with faying, that as no precise idea could be given to the phrase in the

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refolution of the 24th of December, until the political dictionary of Mr. Eden came out, a dictionary which he dared to fay would fix the language as well as the tenets of that Houfe, he would, to put an end to prefent conftructions, move the previous queftion.

Lord North reprobated the fuppofed ambiguity of the re- Ld. North. folution on which the right honourable gentleman (Mr. Pitt) had grounded most of his reafoning. He was at a lofs how to anfwer moft of thofe arguments, which, in his opinion, were merely a fort of philological exercitations, which no ingenuity of man could render fo precife as utterly to exclude all quibble and fophiftry; and unless words were understood in their common acceptation, there would be no end to misconceiving their meaning. He thought, however, that we ought to regard their primary and ufual fenfe as the fafeft, and leaft liable to mifconftruction; and taking these obfervations for granted, he challenged any man to fix any imputation of ambiguity on the refolution in queftion. His Lordship then confidered the fubject in a great variety of lights, and was extremely facetious in many parts of his fpeech. He did not like explanations where there was nothing to explain; and always fufpected fome other meaning than was avowed, where the words of the commentary were fo ambiguous. He took occafion to mention the people at large He faid, he believed they were as yet ignorant of the ftate of the queftion between the two Houfes, and between this House and the Minifter; but he was fure the time was not far off, when their conftituents would perceive who were their friends; it was not in nature that they should be enemies to their natural guardians. If prerogative should pre vail over privilege and the Conftitution, the House of Commons might be enflaved; but in that cafe, the people muft -be enflaved alfo. A free Houfe of Commons would have free fellow fubjects; but a House of Commons, deprived of -all energy and vigour, could exift only in a country loft to every fenfe of liberty. The people would foon fee by whom it was their intereft to be reprefented; by their own members elected by themselves, or by their hereditary members, named by another; by knights, citizens, and burgeffes, or by a noble proxy!

M. Powys declared himself an enemy to the amendment Mr. Powys, fuggefted by the learned gentleman, because it could be called nothing better than a conceffion to the Lords; and he was an enemy to the previous queftion, because the House VOL. XIII.

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Mr. Chan

was called upon to speak out in defence of its privileges, which had been invaded.

Sir George Howard vindicated his noble relation (the Earl of Effingham) from the charge of inconfiftency.

Lord Galway called gentlemen at the bar to order.

The House divided at one o'clock, when there appeared for the previous quefton 156, againft it 187 majority against the Minifter's queftion 31.

Lord Beauchamp's refolutions were then all put, and carried without a divifion, and the Houfe adjourned.

February 18.

Mr. Chancellor Pitt and Mr. Fox rofe together, which occellor Pitt. cafioned a moment's contention in the House, but the latter giving way, the former ftated that he only defired to fay very shortly what the fituation of Minifters was previous to the queftion now to be agitated. He then declared that his Majefty had not yet, in compliance with the resolutions of the Houfe, thought proper to difmifs his present Minifters; and that his Majefty's Minifters had not refigned. This much he thought neceffary to fay, prior to any difcuffion on the fubje&t of fupplies.

Mr. Fox.

Mr. Fox heard the declaration of the right honourable gentleman (Mr. Pitt) with the greateft aftonishment and concern. It was, in his opinion, fuch language as this House had never heard fince the Revolution, or, however, he might fay from the Acceffion. What was it but a flat and peremptory negative to the fentiments and wishes of his Majefty's faithful Commons, who, ardently and folicitously defirous of the public welfare, and the honour of every branch of the British Legislature, had taken the most cautious and delicate means in their power, not only of preventing every thing like a breach, but even of clofing the wound when made? In what fituation then did the House of Com-, mons ftand? To what a degree of infignificance were the representatives of the people, and the people themselves, reduced by this expedient? Could it be faid that they had any longer the least influence in the conftitution of the country? He would answer boldly and to the point. In his opinion the matter was nearly at a crifis. Was not this the first anfwer of the fort that ever had been received by the Houfe from a Prince of the Brunswick line? A Prince who was born and bred among a people who had long adored his per

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onal and domeftic virtues, to whom all the nation looked with pleasure and confidence, whose ancestors had laid them under the highest obligations, and from the qualities and virtues of whofe progeny they had the moft fanguine expectations; that he fhould have been the firft to treat their humble and respectful representation with fo little ceremony as a direct negative; language would not bear him out in ftating the fentiments which a conduct fo new and extraordinary undoubtedly impreffed on his mind. Would any member of the Houfe pretend to fay, that the prefent had any parallel in the hiftory of the country, except in fuch times as one would wifh, during the prefent conteft, if poffible, to forget? Was there not then actually exifting, a variance between the Houfe of Commons and the other branches of the Legiflature? Was the meffage now delivered of a pacific or conciliating tendency? Ought not every fpecies of conduct, as things were now circumftanced, to have been as foft and accommodating as poffible? Was it friendly to the liberties of this country, the conftitutional importance of the people, or the confequence of their reprefentatives in Parliament, to have answered their wishes in a manner fo very unfatisfactory? Gentlemen in private life regarded each other with fo much refpect and delicacy, as never, but in cafes which could admit of no palliative, to contradict each others defires. It was this mutual deference and complaifance which conftituted the beauty and the fatisfaction, as well as utility, of focial intercourfe: and the powers which entered into the Conftitution of this country were actuated and kept alive by the conftant and happy application of this great principle. Harmony rendered all the branches of the British Legiflature one, and rendered its operations effectual and confiftent. But he would afk what tendency his Majefty's meffage, as now very deeply and generally impreffing the Houfe, had to produce that harmony, that unanimity, that cordiality, and union, which conftituted the vital fpring of the British Government, Had not a majority of the House of Commons, almost from time immemorial, governed this country? Was it not a confidence in the Houfe of Commons that gave energy and effect to every Adminiftration? Was it not the countenance and concurrence of the House of Commons which gave popularity and ftability to the Throne? Was it not in clafhing with this radical and primary principle that fo many calamities had happened in fome of the reigns prior to the Revolution?

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